


Sanctuary

by zenkitty555



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Incredible Hulk - All Media Types
Genre: Bruce Banner Needs a Hug, Bruce Feels, Hiding, Kamar-Taj (Marvel), M/M, On the Run, Post-Doctor Strange (2016), Slow Build, Wong is lonely, bruce is lonely
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-16
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-12-02 22:09:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11518509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zenkitty555/pseuds/zenkitty555
Summary: After Bruce comes to Kamar-Taj to hide out, Wong reflects on the man and his place within their walls. At the same time he contemplates what Bruce means to him.





	Sanctuary

**Author's Note:**

> Partly inspires by set photos from Infinity War. ♡_♡

Wong watched Bruce tend to the plot of land that provided some of the food for Kamar-Taj. It was something that he did regularly in the morning before the students gathered. The cool breeze of the morning was always a bit chilly for him, but for Bruce it looked like a refreshing exercise with his shirt off and his hands delicately tending to the earth like a parent would tend to a child. Sometimes it was hard to catch his breath as he watched Bruce, and he made sure to stop looking like a fool before he was seen. It wasn’t very professional to be doing this out in the open. These moments and emotions were private and should be kept that way. However, sometimes he couldn't help but find himself smiling and daydreaming a little more after the day started, letting his feelings take over and his normally stoic expression slip.

For now Wong could indulge in these types of thoughts, as the world was once again lulled into a false sense of security. All they could do was wait for the next big event. There was always something that came next, so he tried to enjoy his time in between these happenings, even if it was something simple like taking in the scene before him.

Very few at Kamar-Taj now knew about these cycles, with Master Hamir and one or two other masters being the exception. Most of those inside their facility no longer remember anything beyond Stephen being Sorcerer Supreme, and Wong being the supervising Master of the place. At times it was depressing, as so many had come and gone. All of those individuals had been sorcerers, but now they also had a guest, and Wong had no idea of how permanent of a guest he would be. Kamar-Taj had never housed a non-practitioner like Bruce Banner.

Bruce was becoming a fixture at Kamar-Taj, and the students often talked about his role; neither student nor master, he was just there. Little did they know about how the man squirreled himself away to prevent his whereabouts from being found out by the government, or from those who wished to use him for their own nefarious purposes. At the same time, he also belonged here. Kamar-Taj was a place that collected broken things, or so it’s various masters had often told themselves, but was Bruce really all that broken?

He was a quiet individual, and he had his problems. Sometimes though Wong really wondered if he was one of the least broken of them all. Unlike the others that had entered Kamar-Taj’s doors in the past, Bruce understood his limitations. He was able to work around them and incorporate his shortcomings.

Wong felt a kinship with Bruce. He wasn’t a firecracker of a human being that Stephen was, or the tempestuous soul that Mordo had been; there was something subdued about him. They were trying to endure their difficulties and prevent their demons from boiling over. Sure, the Hulk was much more destructive than the nagging thoughts and frequent bouts of irritation that plagued Wong, but their dedication to controlling oneself was one in the same. Often closing themselves off to others, it was about protecting what and who they loved.

At some point in time between Bruce’s interest in horticulture and helping the locals with their ills, they had managed to become close, closer than Wong normally allowed even fellow masters. With their history and similarities of personalities, he supposed it was inevitable. It also helped that Bruce wasn’t a sorcerer or sorcerer-in-training. It provided a balance in their life. When they saw one another, they didn’t know what the other had done during the day, and it was stimulating. It wasn’t a report or a rehash of things he knew; it was a story, and Bruce knew how to tell a story. His voice was always soft and serious, but not without humor in it, melodious in its soft dulcet tones.

Then one day, Wong quietly invited Bruce into his quarters for some tea, and things changed between them just ever so slightly. The small, sly smiles as Wong complained to him about something Stephen had done made him feel better and more appreciated for his role in all of it. It felt good to get it off his chest, and soon he heard himself laughing as Bruce grinned widely. He had such a beautiful smile.

Bruce listened to him go on for a good while before providing some insight from an outsider's perspective. For the first time in decades he felt understood. Bruce had no stakes in what was going on, but he knew the players of this crazy game. His words of kindness touched Wong in ways that he hadn’t felt in a long time, not since he had been a student in Kamar-Taj.

At the end of the night, Wong felt sad as he bid goodbye to this person he now thought of as a friend. Even if deep down inside he wanted something a little more, he was satisfied with this.

Naturally, Wong wanted to repeat their experience, but he didn’t want to burden this man with his problems too much. He often just made small talk with him over dinner in the dining hall, while secretly hoping for another chance. Wong remained steadfast, trying to tame his impatience. He was successful, and one day Bruce stopped him as he was headed out to help in one of the organizations that serviced the poorest of the poor in the city. His heart beat a little faster as the man asked him if they could share a pot of tea again in the evening. It seemed that Bruce wanted to spend time with Wong, something Wong was unused to, but very welcomed.

It wasn’t that he was unpopular, or unliked, but it was hard to form lasting friendships. Although he was friendly with Stephen, the man was often too much for him. At times he had missed Mordo’s company, the only one who seemed to have any sense, until Mordo had lost it all that day in Hong Kong. With Bruce he was sure he found it once again, but he had no idea if the man had thought similarly, and didn’t want to push his luck. Wong assumed that he was just lonely the first few times they had talked with one another, and Wong was the only one he had met before Stephen had offered Bruce sanctuary in Kamar-Taj. He tried not to hope too much that he was more than just a distraction or a side effect of boredom.

When Bruce returned from his work, he looked tired, but satisfied as he sat on the small sofa that Wong had recently placed in his quarters a few months before. Wong reached out to pour him some tea, and Bruce stopped him suddenly. He looked up at the other man, hair streaked grey, a mess from the day's work. A small clump of wavy hair hung over his forehead. His eyes smiled at Wong with the same warmth as his grin. It was suddenly hard to breath, as if Wong’s lungs had forgotten how to function properly.

“It’s been a long day, and I am grateful you agreed to this, but I have something I want to get off my chest first,” Bruce paused for a moment before he continued. “I can’t promise that the people here are safe. I honestly thought I would stay here maybe a week or two at most and then move on, but I find myself reluctant to move on. I need to keep running though."

Bruce’s expression changed into a pained one after he had finished speaking. It seemed he did not come to this decision lightly.

Wong narrowed his eyes in confusion. He didn’t know where this was coming from, as he thought he had been clear when Bruce had first come.

“If you are worried about the government, they will not be able to find you here. The warding spells will make sure of it. If you are worried about yourself, we have other means to deal with any situations that might arise. You have seen our magic first hand.”

Bruce pushed up his glasses and looked tense for a moment.

“I know with what you have seen, you must think of me as able to control some of him, but you have not seen the bad side of him. I don’t want to see you or anyone else here hurt.”

Martyrdom never was a good look upon anyone, and frankly Wong didn’t really like hearing it, but in this case he could understand it. He had seen the other one in action, and although the man was valid in his concerns, it wasn’t as though they hadn’t had their own fair share of trouble in the past at Kamar-Taj.

“And where will you go?” Wong challenged.

“Somewhere away from people: mountains, islands, forests. It doesn’t matter.”

Wong looked at him. This man was not built for solitude; he could tell just by looking at him, let alone knowing about the man’s habits. Sure moments of solitude were necessary, but this man needed to be around people.

“This place is safer for you than any other. You have my word. I cannot stop you, but rest on it for a night. If you feel the same in the morning then go,” Wong replied.

He sighed in disappointment. It was the way of Kamar-Taj, and he should have known it would end sooner rather than later.

Bruce nodded as he poured the tea into cups.

“Wong, if I do leave, I want you to know this place and your company has made me feel like I had found a home again. I can’t begin to thank you enough.”

Wong nodded in response, taking a sip from his cup before putting it down. Before he could remove his hand from the area, Bruce put his hand over Wong’s, looking at him with an expression that Wong hadn’t seen in ages.

“Please don’t do this,” Wong said, practically whispering.

“It’s one reason I feel I have to go. I haven’t felt like this in a long time and well, I don’t know if I can do this again. It eventually falls apart,” Bruce confessed.

Wong’s heart ached thinking about it. He wanted to cry out that he was the same, but something stopped him. It felt wrong to say the words.

“I understand, but take your time to think about this… I would miss your company.”

He emphasized the last part the best he could without making it seem like he was pressuring the other man, or desperate for the personal connection he so often quietly craved.

They sat for a little while longer before Bruce left his quarters. Silence fell upon Kamar-Taj once again as the moon began to hit its peak position, and Wong laid awake for a good while that night.

\----

It had been weeks since Bruce had left, and every morning Wong went out to tend to the small field himself. He actually hated this kind of thing, as it reminded him of working on his grandparent’s farm in the summers. On the other hand, it did focus his mind, and allowed him to really work out some of his frustrations. This week his frustrations were about the fact that Stephen had been fielding reports of Karl stealing sorcerers’ magic, an unbelievable tale if he ever heard of one. Yet he had seen the victims as well, and knew that it was true.

Gone were the days filled with quiet moments. Gone were the mornings of quiet relaxation. Instead he was pulling weeds out in anger and out of compassion for the students Kamar-Taj, who they had been forced to train up too quickly. The students had enough to do without doing the extra chores that were once required of them. Wong would suffer instead for some time.

One day after he tended the garden, he stood up to wipe his brow, dripping with sweat from his exertions. Out the corner of his eye, he saw an intermediate level apprentice approach him. The girl quietly told him he had a visitor. Although he complained that he was in no condition to greet anyone at the moment, he begrudgingly went. It was a pain, but the quicker he finished, the less painful it would be.

As he turned the corner into the entrance hall, he saw Bruce standing there with a dirtied knapsack and the same brilliant smile he normally wore when they met. It was surprising, and Wong had no idea what to say. He thought the man had gone forever.

“Can you spare a room for a weary traveler?”

Wong stood and looked at him, a corner of his mouth turned upward in a weak smile.

“Normally Kamar-Taj’s doors are closed to those from the outside, but in this case I believe we can make an exception.”

Bruce lazily blinked at him, seemingly weighing his next words.

“I went to the mountains and found that it was more distressing than the thought of things falling apart here. I hope you can forgive my hasty departure the last time we met.”

“It might have been hasty, but there is nothing to be forgiven.”

Bruce looked at him skeptically, but didn’t protest. Wong gestured for him to follow him back to his old room. It was actually the same room that Stephen had when he stayed in Kamar-Taj, and it was tight, but the other man must have slept and lived in worse. Bruce had never complained once about his lodgings, a rarity amongst those who had passed through their doors.

As Wong started to leave, Bruce stopped him, lightly grabbing at the sleeve of his fall jacket.

“Thank you, again.”

Wong smiled at him, feeling happy for the first time in a few days.

As he grasped the doorknob, he turned back to say, “If you would like to share a pot of tea at night, you are more than welcome.”

Bruce nodded before swaying a little closer to Wong. Something seemed to bother him, and Wong waited for him to respond. He hummed for a second, obviously debating with himself. The air between them changed for a fraction of a second, adding more tension, as Bruce licked his lips and looked at Wong.

“That sounds lovely.”

Wong just stood there for a moment, not knowing how to respond. Their conversation was finished, but something was holding him back from leaving, like there was unfinished business between them. And then Bruce pressed his mouth against his, pleasantly surprising Wong.

It was quick and more of a test of sorts - an experiment in compatibility. Wong looked at him in surprise, and even though he had a feeling that they were headed in that direction, he could never really tell before it actually happened.

His heart skipped a beat.

“Will I see you later tonight? I mean I’m sure you’re quite busy,” Bruce replied.

“Any time after nine,” Wong remarked before leaving the room.

It was a good start to the day, and even if it was getting increasingly harder to continue, at least he had something to look forward to. These moments were the things they had to fight for, but they were also the things worth fighting for.


End file.
